This is one of her more polarizing albums. It seems like people either love or hate it, and very few people are in the middle. I personally love it. I’ve now ranked her debut, Fearless, Speak Now, and 1989. I’ve skipped Red for now since it now has 40 songs! Reputation suffers from coming after 1989 and being very different than anything she had done before.

Several people listened to this album and said “dang? What happened to her?” Taylor has said this album involved her playing a character people built for her and putting on a darker persona than she is. “Yeah, this is the character you created for me, let me just hide behind it,” she said.

And it is darker and edgier than her prior albums. The singles on this shocked people. In part, because it was Taylor singing them, and it was unexpected. I understand why Taylor chose the lead singles she did and respect that choice. I also think had she chosen any combination or selection of “I Did Something Bad,” “Delicate,” “Don’t Blame Me,” or “Call It What You Want” the reception and reviews of this album would have been different. But at the end of the day, this album was always facing an uphill climb after the drama after 1989 and because it followed 1989.

I am one of the people who really love Reputation. I also got to see this on tour, and it was an incredible experience. It’s not my favorite album of hers (because she has a LOT of awesome albums), but excluding Midnights, I think I put it fifth out of the nine albums I’m ranking. (Note: Midnights is too new for me to rank yet.)

I’m also very curious to see what the vault songs are on this one, as I don’t think musically she would change these much or that they would sound much different.

15. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things. This song is not my favorite of the album. It is not bad, but it is not my favorite. It has moments that I like, but overall, the whole song did not come together for me. I like parts, but together, it just did not click for me. Fun concert song though.

14. End Game. I like a lot of this song, but I do not love Ed Sheeran’s part is not my favorite. I also do not love the first rap part of this song; however, I like a lot of this song. I like Taylor’s parts in this one. But overall, this song also just did not come together.

13. Ready For It? I actually like this song, which I know a lot don’t. It was also a great tour opening song. It’s very different from other things she has done. It’s not my favorite of hers, but I really like it. It’s an enjoyable song. Her best? No. Good? Yes.

12. Gorgeous. If this had come out when I was in high school, I would have liked it more. My sister described this as a “high school” song, and I think she is spot on. I think a lot of people will think I rated it too low, and that it should be higher. However, I feel that #12 is right.

11. Look What You Made Me Do. This one caught everybody off guard. Very, very different than her other stuff. And yes, I like it. I work with abuse, and so a lot of people ask how I can like this one since “Look what you made me do” is a line that abusers often use. However, I actually think that she reclaims this line. You tried to destroy me, look how I responded and how I came back from it. It doesn’t seem to be used in the same way that abusers use it.  “I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time. I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time.” It doesn’t have an abusive vibe. It has an overcoming, bounce-back vibe. Obviously, not my favorite of hers, but it’s solid, and I like it.

Also, this is a good line:  “I don’t trust nobody, and nobody trusts me. I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams.”  Would I want every song to have this vibe? No. But I like it.

10. King of My Heart. A great one to sing too. It’s a solid song. Not my favorite off the album, but it’s a fun one.

9. Getaway Car. A fan favorite. This song is catchy and fun to sing along to. It’s a lot of people’s favorite; while it’s not my favorite, I really enjoy it. There are some great lines in this one. It is a fun one to sing.

8. Dancing With Our Hands Tied. This song is also catchy. It gets stuck in my head so easily and often. Knowing the meaning behind why she wrote this song makes it more meaningful. I enjoy the lyricism to this one and the storytelling here.

7. Dress. This is a solid song. It is one of my favorites to sing off this album. The message may not be the best or deepest, but it’s such a fun one and one I love to sing.

6. So It Goes. This one is very close to “Dress,” but I think this one slightly edges out “Dress.” I like the background music, the lyrics, and the chord progression to this one. I love singing it. Also not the deepest message, but it’s solid. I’m sad I haven’t heard her sing this one live.

Similarly, the next three are neck and neck. Like with other albums, the order of these three depends on the day. I tried to do what I think most often is how I would rank these. However, they are neck and neck.

5. Call It What You Want. This was one of my early favorites off this album, and it remains that way. I’ve also listened to this one more than I’ve listened to “Delicate.” I debated ranking this one higher than “Delicate,” but lyrically, “Delicate” is better. I think there are a few lines that could have been executed better here that always temporarily pull me out of the song. This song captures another very relatable feeling in new relationships. I like this one. It’s not her strongest as far storytelling, but I still really enjoy it.

4. New Year’s Day.  This ranking was tough in that I knew it was better than “Call It What You Want,” but I could not decide which one was better out of “Delicate” and this one. I think “Delicate” slightly edges out “New Year’s Day,” but this was one of the hardest songs for me to place on the entire album. When I am in the mood for this song, almost no other songs top it. But it doesn’t have the same general listenability as “Delicate” does. I love the emotions and sentiments behind and to this song. The idea of being there for somebody after the big moments and for the bad moments too. This song is about being all in in a relationship, and I really love it.

3. Delicate. This is the song that emerged as the fan favorite of this album, and the one people think should have been THE lead-off single. It’s easy to see why this is the fan favorite. The lyricism, musicality, emotional connection, and storytelling behind this one are obvious and well done. It captures an emotion that too many of us have felt too often—the uncertainty of a new relationship that you want to push forward but that leaves you worried you may be acting too soon. This one is solid. Like many songs from 1989, I wouldn’t change anything about this one. Very well done.

This album had a clear #2 and #1 for me. There are two songs that stood out above the rest for me, and it was very clear what order they should be in. Since day 1, these have been my favorites off the album, and they remain that way. These are the two I’ve listened to the most, and they have always been in this order.

2. Don’t Blame Me. I love everything about this song. The background instruments, the notes, the rhythm, the lyrics, and the execution. I adore this song. It’s one of her better ones, and I’m shocked this one didn’t get more love when it came out or more love now.

1. I Did Something Bad. If you ask Jon, he will tell you I’m obsessed with violins and dramatic/angry violins. He’s not wrong! So yeah, that could be a large part of why I like this one. Like “Don’t Blame Me,” I love everything about this song. Just reread the list above and insert it here. I love the drama and angst in this song. I like to put on this persona as well. And yep, it’s a bop and a jam. Solid and one of my favorites in her entire discography.